Books blog + E-readers | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog+technology/ereaders
Indexen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015Tue, 03 Mar 2015 20:35:29 GMT2015-03-03T20:35:29Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015The Guardianhttp://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttp://www.theguardian.com
I’m hooked on ebook highlighting – what we underline is so revealinghttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/nov/06/im-hooked-on-ebook-highlighting-what-we-underline-is-revealing
<p>Ebook readers reveal the most highlighted passages in Harry Potter, the Bible, Lord of the Rings and many more </p><p>It’s an odd sensation to be reading an ebook and to suddenly notice that – <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304870304577490950051438304?mg=reno64-wsj&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304870304577490950051438304.html" title="">thanks to the provider’s data-tracking software</a> – you’re on a passage that <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jul/04/big-ereader-is-watching-you" title="">other people have already highlighted</a>. I had it recently, reading <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/01/us-david-nicholls-review-fiction" title="">David Nicholls</a>’s Us, where readers have been quick to wield their virtual pens.</p><p>“I had always been led to believe that ageing was a slow and gradual process, the creep of a glacier. Now I realise that it happens in a rush, like snow falling off a roof,” writes Nicholls, in a passage picked out by 18 previous – gently ageing? – readers. Twenty seven, meanwhile, in long-term relationships of their own perhaps, went for “of course, after nearly a quarter of a century, the questions about our distant pasts have all been posed and we’re left with ‘how was your day?’ and ‘when will you be home?’ and ‘have you put the bins out?’”</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/nov/06/im-hooked-on-ebook-highlighting-what-we-underline-is-revealing">Continue reading...</a>CultureBooksEbooksTechnologyKindleE-readersKindle FireAmazon.comComputingTablet computersPublishingHarry PotterAdventure (children and teens)Children and teenagersChildren's fantasy books (children's and teens)Sci-fi (children and teens)FantasyScience fictionWitches, wizards and magicThe BibleDavid NichollsThu, 06 Nov 2014 08:00:07 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/nov/06/im-hooked-on-ebook-highlighting-what-we-underline-is-revealingPhotograph: Alamy‘Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight’ … a still from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.Photograph: Alamy‘Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight’ … a still from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.Photograph: AlamySolitary no more … highlighting brings readers’ minds together. Photograph: AlamyPhotograph: AlamySolitary no more … highlighting brings readers’ minds together. Photograph: AlamyAlison Flood2014-11-06T08:00:07ZCan you read a novel in three hours?http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/sep/22/speed-reading-app-spritz-read-novel-three-hours
<p>Speed-reading a Man-Booker-shortlisted novel – with help from an app called Spritz – was a thrilling ride that left me in agony</p><p>Last week, I decided to perform an experiment. At midday precisely, I sat on my couch to see if I could knock off a Man-Booker-shortlisted novel by teatime.</p><p>That’s not as easy as it sounds. The book I picked was <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/may/28/to-rise-again-decent-hour-joshua-ferris-review">To Rise Again at a Decent Hour</a> by Joshua Ferris – at 110,000 words or so, it’s not particularly lengthy, but given that the average adult reader clocks in at between 250 and 300 words per minute (<a href="http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/marketing/technology-research-centers/ereaders/speed-reader">according to a 2012 study</a>), it would still take around six hours to finish. And that’s without considering the weighty subject matter: a Manhattan dentist dealing with a crisis of faith after a religious group steals his identity. Clearly, demolishing it by three or four o’clock was somewhat ambitious.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/sep/22/speed-reading-app-spritz-read-novel-three-hours">Continue reading...</a>BooksCultureE-readersAppsGadgetsTechnologyMon, 22 Sep 2014 15:06:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/sep/22/speed-reading-app-spritz-read-novel-three-hoursPhotograph: Rob Macdougall/Getty ImagesFast and furious … speed-reading with no time to linger. Photograph: Rob Macdougall/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Rob Macdougall/Getty ImagesFast and furious … speed-reading with no time to linger. Photograph: Rob Macdougall/Getty ImagesRob Boffard2014-09-22T15:06:03ZWhat are your reading habits and quirks?http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/apr/17/what-are-your-reading-habits-and-quirks
<p>All of us here love books – and love can induce some very eccentric and odd behaviour. Share your personal reading habits and quirks <br></p><p>I have this <i>thing</i> that really annoys my sister when I am reading a book. Whenever I visit home, we'll be sitting in the living room, and she'll suddenly yell at me to stop &quot;flicking the page&quot;. I know exactly what she means, but I don't realise I'm doing it. I've always done it. I have this habit, see, of stroking – it's definitely stroking, or crinkling, not flicking – book and magazine pages as I'm reading them. I know, I know. It's weird. I just like the feel of paper, and it helps me concentrate. Um, this is what I mean: <br /></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/apr/17/what-are-your-reading-habits-and-quirks">Continue reading...</a>BooksE-readersThu, 17 Apr 2014 09:11:45 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/apr/17/what-are-your-reading-habits-and-quirksPhotograph: AlamyA woman reads in the sunshine at Hay festival. Photograph: AlamyPhotograph: AlamyA woman reads in the sunshine at Hay festival. Photograph: AlamyHannah Jane Parkinson2014-04-17T09:11:45ZKindle readers make their markhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/dec/20/kindle-amazon-ebooks-hunger-games
Amazon's 'popular highlights' chart reveals a revolution in reading habits<p>If you've skimmed the e-ink pages of a Kindle, you've probably come across a handful of passages underlined with a slight squiggle, akin to Microsoft Word's spellcheck. Kindle has for the past few years given users the opportunity to see &quot;popular highlights&quot;: the passages in their ebooks that readers most often highlight or annotate.</p><p>The books most highlighted are often the most read – Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games trilogy dominates the <a href="https://kindle.amazon.com/most_popular" title="">Amazon ranking of highlights</a>. Eight of the 10 most highlighted passages on Kindles are from The Hunger Games or its sequels; the other two are from Pride and Prejudice. It's interesting to note what people highlight, though. Not the smutty scenes at which a more lascivious reader might surreptitiously bend over a page corner. The highlights reveal that most readers of ebooks are unabashedly sentimental.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/dec/20/kindle-amazon-ebooks-hunger-games">Continue reading...</a>EbooksBooksE-readersTechnologyKindleCultureAmazon.comClassicsChildren and teenagersFri, 20 Dec 2013 12:10:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/dec/20/kindle-amazon-ebooks-hunger-gamesAllstar/LIONSGATE/Sportsphoto Ltd./AllstarOn fire … Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games trilogy currently dominates Kindle's 'most highlighted' chart. Photograph: Allstar/LIONSGATE/Sportsphoto Ltd./AllstarAllstar/LIONSGATE/Sportsphoto Ltd./AllstarOn fire … Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games trilogy currently dominates Kindle's 'most highlighted' chart. Photograph: Allstar/LIONSGATE/Sportsphoto Ltd./AllstarDawn Foster2013-12-20T12:10:00ZEbooks need more attention from their publishershttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/nov/21/ebooks-publishers-care-attention
The industry is supposedly embracing a digital future, but too scant attention is too often paid to the basics of organising ebooks<p>The bright hopes of digital publishing are gathered in London for the latest FutureBook conference and the future looks, well, familiar. As the new boss of HarperCollins, Charlie Redmayne, gave his keynote speech, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/20/harpercollins-charlie-redmayne-publishers-storytelling-digital" title="">previewed on this site</a>, one bright spark petulantly tweeted: &quot;This headline is 'news'? Charlie Redmayne: 'publishers must embrace change' #fbook2013 thebookseller.com/news/redmayne-…</p><p>Redmayne regretted that publishers, &quot;historically … the most innovative and creative of organisations&quot;, had lost the plot. &quot;I think that when it came to the digital revolution we came to a point where we stopped innovating and creating. We thought, we've done an ebook and that is what it is.&quot;</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/nov/21/ebooks-publishers-care-attention">Continue reading...</a>PublishingBooksEbooksTechnologyKindleE-readersThu, 21 Nov 2013 14:47:28 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/nov/21/ebooks-publishers-care-attentionMartin Argles/GuardianMore focused attention required … an ebook reader in a branch of Waterstones. Photograph: Martin Argles for the GuardianMartin Argles/GuardianMore focused attention required … an ebook reader in a branch of Waterstones. Photograph: Martin Argles for the GuardianClaire Armitstead2013-11-21T14:47:28ZIndia Drummond: 'My series took off when I gave my novel away for free'http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/sep/11/self-publishing-india-drummond
After earning pizza money with a small press, this fantasy writer had a magical experience building a new audience on her own<br /><br /><strong>Scroll down to recommend your own favourite self-published books</strong><p>My first book was picked up by a small press about three years ago, and it wasn't a great experience. I enjoyed the validation of someone else thinking my work was publishable, but that high only lasted about a week. The cover looked like a romance novel, not an urban fantasy; the publisher insisted on changes I was unhappy with; and they asked their authors to chip in on advertising that I didn't think would work (and it didn't). The experience left me feeling helpless. In the end, I earned, at best, pizza money. During this process, I heard about authors who had successfully self-published. In the past, so many of my writing instructors told me it would be the death of my career; now it began to sound viable. I had to try. I wrote <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Faerie-Caledonia-Fae/dp/B0050Q4YBK/" title="">Blood Faerie</a>, the first novel in my <a href="http://www.indiadrummond.com/my-fiction/caledonia-fae/" title="">Caledonia Fae</a> urban fantasy series, with the aim of self-publishing it.</p><p>Eilidh detected the greasy scent of evil moments before she heard the scream below. She perched in St Paul's steeple, watching Perth's late night pub-crawlers through rotting slats. The scurrying footfalls of humans did not hold her interest, nor did the seeping ruby blood that spread quickly over the flat, grey paving stones. Instead, her eyes turned north along Methven Street, seeking the source of that familiar smell.<br />Evil smelled like nothing else, worse than a rotting corpse, worse than sewage and disease, more vile than the fumes that billowed from modern machinery, more cloying than the shame of drunken whores. This particular evil was fresh, but not quite pure. It mixed with rage but was contained, refined, as though gestated in the belly of ancient hatred. This evil held promise, and for the first time in decades, Eilidh hesitated, slightly afraid.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/sep/11/self-publishing-india-drummond">Continue reading...</a>BooksCultureE-readersFictionFantasyWed, 11 Sep 2013 15:53:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/sep/11/self-publishing-india-drummondPR'Be honest, and don't give up' … India DrummondIndia Drummond2013-09-11T15:53:00ZThe big short – why Amazon's Kindle Singles are the futurehttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/sep/05/amazon-kindle-singles-short
All hail the 'bookeen', a new format that's perfect for short stories, novellas and essays<p>New formats in literature are rare, and disruptive. They usually accompany a change in technology. Amazon was the first big player to realise that digitisation would allow for a new literary format. In January 2011, it quietly launched a substore on its US website to sell something it called a Kindle Single: Compelling Ideas Expressed At Their Natural Length, as a press release headline blandly put it.</p><p>&quot;Typically between 5,000 and 30,000 words, Kindle Singles are editorially curated and showcase writing from both new and established voices – from bestselling novelists and journalists to previously unpublished writers.&quot;</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/sep/05/amazon-kindle-singles-short">Continue reading...</a>PublishingKindleE-readersHoward JacobsonMargaret AtwoodStephen KingChuck PalahniukNiall FergusonGeorge SaundersTechnologyBooksAmazon.comInternetE-commerceCultureThu, 05 Sep 2013 11:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/sep/05/amazon-kindle-singles-shortMario Tama/Getty ImagesStephen King holds aloft a special pink Kindle given to him by Amazon's CEO, Jeff Bezos. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty ImagesMario Tama/Getty ImagesStephen King holds aloft a special pink Kindle given to him by Amazon's CEO, Jeff Bezos. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty ImagesJulian Gough2013-09-05T11:00:00ZTen tips to keep up your holiday reading habitshttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/03/ten-tips-holiday-reading-habits
Don't resign yourself to only reading on holiday. With a few top tips, you can keep the page-rate going all year round<p><strong>1. A glass a day keeps the reader at bay<br /></strong><br />You might cherish holiday memories of floating on a lilo with a beer in one hand and a book in the other, but sadly it doesn't work once the siesta hour is taken away. Devise a system of reading-time units to keep a healthy relationship between the bottle and the page. If you're having trouble with willpower, let <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/data/book/classics/9780007925353/the-beautiful-and-damned">F Scott Fitzgerald</a> or <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/data/book/romance/9780099518624/revolutionary-road">Richard Yates </a>set you straight.</p><p><strong>2. Switch the TV off</strong></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/03/ten-tips-holiday-reading-habits">Continue reading...</a>BooksFictionCultureSarah WatersF Scott FitzgeraldSeamus HeaneyKate AtkinsonE-readersAudiobooksJoanna TrollopeTue, 03 Sep 2013 13:41:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/03/ten-tips-holiday-reading-habitsBill Bachmann / AlamyCarried along by a story ... your reading doesn't have to end with your holiday. Photograph: Bill Bachmann / AlamyBill Bachmann / AlamyCarried along by a story ... summer holiday reading.
Photograph: Bill Bachmann / AlamyGuardian Staff2013-09-03T13:41:00ZTweeting between the lines with the Commuter Book Clubhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/aug/30/commuter-book-club-twitter
With stations broadcasting book-related tweets from passengers on digital screens, travellers have a new way to take their minds off delays. But what are you reading on the rails?<p>If you're lucky enough to be a rail commuter like me, you may have discovered the amusement of following your fellow passengers on Twitter. There's something strangely comforting about knowing that, in your internal commuting strife, you're not alone.</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/aug/30/commuter-book-club-twitter">Continue reading...</a>FictionJoseph HellerFranz KafkaEM ForsterBooksCultureTwitterE-readersTechnologyFri, 30 Aug 2013 16:12:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/aug/30/commuter-book-club-twitterShout/Rex FeaturesWhat do you read on your commute to work? Photograph: Rex FeaturesRex FeaturesChaos is to be avoided. Photograph: Rex FeaturesLiz Bury2013-08-30T16:12:02ZWhy is self-publishing still scorned by literary awards?http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/aug/16/self-publishing-literary-awards
As an increasing number of DIY authors climb the digital bestseller lists, book prizes will have to rethink their entry criteria<p>A self-published book reaching the top of the charts is losing its power to surprise. Certainly it's less shocking than it might have been a few years ago to learn that Violet Duke's self-published romance novels, Falling for the Good Guy and Choosing the Right Man nabbed <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/self-published-author-takes-two-spots-in-ibookstore-top-10_b76024" title="">two spots on this week's iBookstore bestseller chart</a>, alongside the likes of JK Rowling and Dan Brown.</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/aug/16/self-publishing-literary-awards">Continue reading...</a>Self-publishingFictionPublishingBooksKindleE-readersTechnologyAwards and prizesCultureFri, 16 Aug 2013 13:22:31 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/aug/16/self-publishing-literary-awardsPRSergio de la Pava, whose self-published novel, A Naked Singularity, won an award only after it was picked up by a 'proper' publisherPRJudges' decision in favour ... public defender and novelist Sergio de la PavaLiz Bury2013-08-16T13:22:31ZThe Kindle has turned me off paper bookshttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/aug/02/kindle-paper-books-bookseller-e-reader
I'm a rare book dealer, but since getting an e-reader older reading media seem awkward and cumbersome<p>It was the second lead story on The News at Ten. JK Rowling, it seems, had <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jul/14/jk-rowling-crime-novel-cuckoos-calling" title="">just been unmasked</a> as the author of a pseudonymous thriller, The Cuckoo's Calling, under the name Robert Galbraith. By the time the newsreader was on item three, I was on page three. Kindles are perfect for speedy delivery: 30 seconds between desire and fulfilment.</p><p>I was delighted to have the new text on my screen, having no desire to schlep it about in hard copy. Schlep it about? This is a book were talking about, right? Not a suitcase. There is nothing cumbersome about most books, is there? Admittedly, they can be inconvenient – if you want to read one in the middle of the night, you have to turn on the bedside lamp, and risk irritating your loved one. (Back-lit e-readers are not yet universal, but it's getting that way.) And too many books are a positive encumbrance if you are travelling, and want to take enough reading matter to cover your holiday, without paying for excess baggage.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/aug/02/kindle-paper-books-bookseller-e-reader">Continue reading...</a>TechnologyE-readersKindleJK RowlingBooksCultureFri, 02 Aug 2013 09:30:41 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/aug/02/kindle-paper-books-bookseller-e-readerAlamyWhat on earth are these things? ... customer at the Old Book Bazaar in Istanbul looks as confused as I feel. Photograph: AlamyAlamyWhat on earth are these things? ... customer at the Old Book Bazaar in Istanbul looks as confused as I feel. Photograph: AlamyRick Gekoski2013-08-02T09:30:41ZE-readers reading your reading: A serious invasion of privacy?http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2012/dec/05/ereaders-reading-privacy
A new report shows that almost all such devices monitor users' activity. This doesn't really bother me, but should I be more worried?<p>In the light of a feature I wrote this summer, about <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jul/04/big-ereader-is-watching-you" title="">how our e-readers can track our reading habits</a> – complete, I'm ashamed to say, with the obligatory Orwell references – I thought I'd point anyone who's interested in the direction of <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/11/e-reader-privacy-chart-2012-update" title="">this new report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation</a>.</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2012/dec/05/ereaders-reading-privacy">Continue reading...</a>EbooksTechnologyBooksE-readersGadgetsKindleSonyCultureWed, 05 Dec 2012 16:58:19 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2012/dec/05/ereaders-reading-privacyBloomberg/Getty ImagesThe end of private browsing ... A Kindle. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty ImagesBloomberg/Getty ImagesThe end of private browsing ... A Kindle. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty ImagesAlison Flood2012-12-05T16:58:19ZShelf preservation: Why my ebook conversion only goes so farhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2012/sep/19/ebook-conversion-genre
I've grown to love the format for certain genres, but some books demand three dimensions<p>The <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/sep/18/ebook-price-war-discounts" title="">news that ebook pricing has taken a nosedive to the earth's molten core</a> gives me a pang for poor saps still trying to earn a Cup-a-Soup by engendering novels. Especially newbies. It's all very well for established authors and retailers who can afford it to sell books for less than a packet of gum, but what about those who can't? That said, I am, to my shame, a deeply clutch-fisted reader. Convulsive speed of consumption, coupled with an unladylike appetite - like a bibliophagous hybrid of boa and goat - make me miserly about forking out for short-lived literary indulgences. That's <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2012/feb/03/save-library-campaigns" title="">what the library's for</a>.</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2012/sep/19/ebook-conversion-genre">Continue reading...</a>EbooksBooksTechnologyKindleE-readersCultureWed, 19 Sep 2012 09:19:20 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2012/sep/19/ebook-conversion-genreMartin Argles for the GuardianAn ebook in Waterstones. Photograph: Martin Argles for the GuardianMartin Argles for the GuardianAn ebook in Waterstones. Photograph: Martin Argles for the GuardianImogen Russell Williams2012-09-19T09:19:20ZAre books and the internet about to merge?http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/feb/15/book-internet-merge
The difference between ebooks and the internet is minimal, and we should be glad the two are growing closer and closer<p>It's easy to forget that the world wide web as we know it today evolved from an early attempt to put books on the internet. When Tim Berners-Lee envisaged what would become the world wide web, it was with the idea of making academic papers and other documents widely available. To this end he devised a simple way of laying out text and images on a page, inventing what we now call Hypertext Markup Language or HTML.</p><p>Early HTML could define pages and paragraphs, bold and italicise text, embed images and lay out tables. A little more than 20 years later, HTML 5 includes media playback and animation, and the web has now become so ubiquitous that for most users it is indistinguishable from the underlying framework of the internet itself, but at its core the technology of the web remains little changed. Every web page, however sophisticated it may seem, is basically a digital book that we read on our computer through our web browser. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/feb/15/book-internet-merge">Continue reading...</a>EbooksBooksTechnologyInternetKindleE-readersCultureWed, 15 Feb 2012 16:00:12 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/feb/15/book-internet-mergeImages.com/CorbisBook and internet: can you see the join? Illustration: Images.com/CorbisImages.com/CorbisBook and internet. Illustration: Images.com/CorbisDamien Walter2012-02-15T16:00:12ZEbooks don't spell the end of literaturehttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2011/oct/10/ebooks-ereaders-books-kindle
E-readers pose no threat to books – quite the opposite, they may just re-Kindle a generation's love for the written word<p>The other day I was on a train, reading a book. The young woman seated next to me was also reading a book. We were both enjoying classics of English literature – hers was a Charlotte Bront&euml; novel. The only difference was that my book was made of paper, and hers of light on the <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kindle-Store/b?ie=UTF8&amp;node=341677031" title="">screen of an e-reader</a>.</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2011/oct/10/ebooks-ereaders-books-kindle">Continue reading...</a>EbooksBooksArt and designCultureKindleE-readersTechnologyMon, 10 Oct 2011 16:15:29 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2011/oct/10/ebooks-ereaders-books-kindleEmmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty ImagesKind of cool ... Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos introduces the new Kindle Fire tablet in New York. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty ImagesEmmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty ImagesAmazon CEO Jeff Bezos introduces the new Kindle Fire tablet in New York. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty ImagesJonathan Jones2011-10-10T16:15:29ZBack to the future of fictionhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/oct/07/back-to-future-fiction
For all the speculation about digitisation transforming narrative, the latest developments in e-reading cleave to a very traditional model<p>For the last week or so the front of Amazon.co.uk has been proclaiming the <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kindle-Wi-Fi-6-Ink-Display/dp/B0051QVF7A" title="">launch of the new Kindle e-reader</a>. Apparently it's the &quot;smallest, lightest, fastest, most affordable Kindle yet&quot;, with &quot;faster page turns&quot;, a screen that &quot;reads like real paper&quot; and &quot;free cloud backup&quot;. But, as <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/30/kindle_fire/" title="">Bill Ray points out on the Register </a>, the new slimline body is missing a vital feature: the keyboard.</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/oct/07/back-to-future-fiction">Continue reading...</a>FictionBooksCultureTechnologyEbooksE-readersGadgetsKindleFri, 07 Oct 2011 11:22:16 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/oct/07/back-to-future-fictionMary Knox Merrill/Christian Science Monitor/GettySame old story ... a Massachusetts book club whose members use both Kindles and conventional books. Photograph: Mary Knox Merrill/Christian Science Monitor/GettyMary Knox Merrill/Christian Science Monitor/GettySame old story ... a Massachusetts book club whose members use both Kindles and conventional books. Photograph: Mary Knox Merrill/Christian Science Monitor/GettyRichard Lea2011-10-07T11:22:16ZAmazon's Kindle Fire: Will it stoke enthusiasm for e-reading?http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/sep/28/amazon-kindle-fire-e-reading
The founder of the independent UK Kindle Users' Forum considers the impact of Amazon's new device on e-reading<p>Today sees the first official announcement from Amazon about the launch of several new additions to the Kindle family, including the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/sep/28/kindle-fire-amazon-ignites-tablet-market?newsfeed=true" title="">Kindle Fire</a> – and as founder-member of the <a href="http://www.kuforum.co.uk" title="">UK Kindle Users Forum</a>, I'm excited.</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/sep/28/amazon-kindle-fire-e-reading">Continue reading...</a>EbooksKindle FireBooksTechnologyAmazon.comComputingTablet computersKindleE-readersCultureWed, 28 Sep 2011 16:40:46 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/sep/28/amazon-kindle-fire-e-readingSpencer Platt/Getty ImagesAmazon's Kindle Fire goes on display to media in New York. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesSpencer Platt/Getty ImagesAmazon's Kindle Fire goes on display to media in New York. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesLou Wellman2011-09-28T16:40:46ZKindles make reading people harderhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/aug/16/e-readers-make-reading-people-harder
If you need another reason to worry about the death of print, think of the access to strangers' souls we'll lose when e-readers take over<p>Ah ha! I've finally put my finger on a concrete reason for my lingering, irrational, doubtless soon-to-be-jettisoned prejudice against e-readers. I had dinner last night with a few people at the Edinburgh festival, and eventually, inevitably, the subject of print vs ebooks came up. The pros and cons were duly trotted out for another airing, and the conversation followed the usual, now well-worn lines, until one member of the party made what seemed to me to be a killer point. </p><p>&quot;The problem with Kindles,&quot; he said, &quot;is that you can't tell what other people are reading on public transport.&quot;</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/aug/16/e-readers-make-reading-people-harder">Continue reading...</a>EbooksBooksE-readersTechnologyCultureTue, 16 Aug 2011 13:48:13 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/aug/16/e-readers-make-reading-people-harderMurdo MacleodDo you need to know anything more about these people? Harry Potter fans from two generations at a bus stop. Photograph: Murdo MacleodMurdo MacleodDo you need to know anything more about these people? Harry Potter fans from two generations at a bus stop. Photograph: Murdo MacleodSarah Crown2011-08-16T13:48:13ZGlowing praise in the dark for digital bookshttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2010/aug/30/glowing-praise-digital-books
The newest technology has revived old habits of reading. Just switch the lights off late at night and turn the virtual pages of a spooky gothic tale for an illuminating experience<p>The experience of reading books on an iPad is disconcertingly beautiful. It has rapidly become the favourite use of this dazzling gadget in our house. We are entering <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/ebooks" title="">a new age of the book</a>, and it may turn out to be a bright one. </p><p>Every book on the iBooks reader becomes, literally, illuminated. In the history of the book, illumination refers to the decoration of <a href="http://www.abcgallery.com/R/raphael/raphael59.html" title="">hand-copied manuscripts by medieval monks</a>. No angels or devils appear, no gothic letters sprout curls of foliage, when you open an iBook: the illumination rather consists of a backlit white screen on which type looks singularly seductive. You want to turn the page and see more – so you do just that, physically flicking over a virtual sheet of paper with the tactile technology that makes the iPad so easy to use. Fans of the rival digital book reader, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/aug/29/kindle-ipad-ereaders-john-naughton" title="">Amazon's Kindle</a>, which is controlled with buttons, deny that Apple's touch-sensitive science makes a difference.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2010/aug/30/glowing-praise-digital-books">Continue reading...</a>BooksCultureE-readersiPadTechnologyKindlePublishingMon, 30 Aug 2010 14:13:12 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2010/aug/30/glowing-praise-digital-booksCorbisAre you sitting comfortably? You won't need the light of a fire to help you read if you have a well-lit iBook. Photograph: CorbisCorbisAre you sitting comfortably? You won't need the light of a fire for reading with a well-lit iBook. Photograph: CorbisJonathan Jones2010-08-30T14:13:12ZHold on to your hardbacks ... we're in the middle of an ebook e-ruptionhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/jul/26/ebook-eruption
Technological change in the world of books is coming so thick and fast it's hard to keep up<p>These are heady times for the cultural commentator. Change in the world of books is coming so thick and fast it's hard to keep up. Scarcely have we adjusted to one innovation than up pops something new to change the picture yet again.</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/jul/26/ebook-eruption">Continue reading...</a>EbooksBooksCultureE-readersMon, 26 Jul 2010 14:26:13 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/jul/26/ebook-eruptionGraeme Robertson/Graeme RobertsonRevolutionary track ... a woman uses an Amazon Kindle ebook reader on the tube. Photograph: Graeme RobertsonGraeme Robertson/Graeme Robertson9th OCT-LONDON : A woman uses an Amazon Kindle electronic-book reader on an underground train
Photograph: Graeme RobertsonRobert McCrum2010-07-26T14:26:13Z